Commercial credit repair companies are businesses that offer to repair your credit for a fee. They typically do this by working with the national credit reporting bureaus – TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian – to address and remove negative items from your credit reports. However, you can achieve the same results yourself with time and determination, so it really comes down to how you would rather handle credit repair: with time or money.
Commercial Credit Repair Companies
Credit repair is something you can do on your own, but it can take a lot of time and effort. This is one reason people turn to commercial credit repair companies – they can take care of the credit bureau interactions that you may not have time to handle.
However, because you can do the same work as a credit repair company on your own, many people label these types of services as scams. Rest assured, there are many legitimate companies that do this kind of work, but, as with many things, a few bad apples can spoil the bunch.
If you're thinking about using a credit repair company to help you improve your credit, make sure you know what a true commercial credit repair company does, and be on the lookout for signs of a business trying to pull the wool over your eyes.
Look for Signs of Legitimacy
Here are three ways you can tell if a credit repair company is legit:
Beware of companies that are offering you nothing more than a credit report. You're entitled to a free copy of your credit reports from each of the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) once every 12 months. There's no need to pay a company for a credit report unless you want to stay up to date each month. Real credit repair companies have much more to offer.- Beware of companies that ask to be paid for services before they're performed. Legit companies can only charge for credit repair after the services are completed.
- Beware of companies that don't allow you to reach out to a real person. You should steer clear of web-based businesses that don't list any contact information. If you can't speak with a real, live person at a credit repair company, you may not being working with the real deal.
Now that you know the signs to watch out for, you can protect yourself by making sure to use a legitimate commercial credit repair company – if you decide this type of credit repair is for you. However, there are other ways to improve your credit that don't involve going back and forth with the credit bureaus.
Improve Your Credit on Your Own
The best way to improve your credit is through effort and time, but first you need to know the areas of your credit to work on. This means getting your credit reports and credit score, so you know where you stand.
You can get a free copy of your credit reports by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com, while you may have to pay a small fee for your credit scores, though you can sometimes get them for free from a bank, credit union, or credit card provider. Once you know how your credit looks, you can determine if you can improve your credit on your own.
Sometimes, the simple act of paying your bills on time, every time, can make a significant improvement in your credit score. On the other hand, you may need to reduce the amount of debt you have, which can be done by paying down credit cards, or by opening one or more new lines of credit.
A great way to achieve this is with a car loan. When you add an auto loan to your credit mix, you're not only adding a line of credit, but you're diversifying the credit you already have.
Credit Improvement with an Auto Loan
When your credit needs improvement, it can be difficult to qualify for a car loan. Often, this is because the type of lender that works with bad credit borrowers only operates through special finance dealerships, and many of these dealers don't advertise this service.
This is where we come in. Auto Credit Express works with a nationwide network of special finance dealerships that know how to help people who have bad credit, no credit, or even bankruptcy.
To save you the hassle of finding an auto loan on your own, simply fill out our free and easy car loan request form. After you submit it, we'll work to get you matched to a local dealer.
